


One Hundred Petals

by Dior_Crystal



Category: Naruto
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-01-24
Updated: 2016-02-16
Packaged: 2018-03-08 19:39:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,415
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3220967
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dior_Crystal/pseuds/Dior_Crystal
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An unlikely couple. Watch as sparks fly- mostly from Yamanaka Ino's side, of course. A collection of short stories on ItaIno. Part of a 100 Themes Challenge.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Theme #1: Introduction

_Setting: AU_

* * *

It was just like any other day at their relatively peaceful neighbourhood; the sun hung against a backdrop of cloud-dotted blue sky, the flowers grown by the residents of Konoha Lane had awakened to full bloom in greeting of the day, and the morning rush to get to work and school now over the sounds that generally surrounded the area had fallen to a murmur with the laughter of children breaking the peace every now and then. A typical scene for this particular area, though not so typical for at least one of its residents, a young girl who was none other than Yamanaka Ino.

At the age of just four years old, the young Yamanaka already had a long list of ambitions, of things to achieve in her life.

She wanted to become a florist, she already knew so much about them and her life was positively filled with flowers what with her father running a flower shop.

She wanted to become a botanist, knowing just the beauty and symbols of flowers was not enough. She wanted to learn about the properties and uses of plants as well.

She wanted to become a singer, a model, an actress! She was already so cute and talented, so why not? All of these were perfect for her.

She wanted to become a doctor, a nurse. She had always liked helping others, and there would be no better feeling than the swell of happiness from seeing a patient walk out the doors healthy.

With the number of things on her list, it was a good thing that she was an excellent multi-tasker- or so she thought.

And of course, the last thing but by no means least on her list, was that she wanted to get married. She had it all worked out. Her husband-to-be would be gorgeous, a super talented dark-haired beauty with a high-ranking job, and he would be head-over-heels in love with her. It would be love at first sight. And their children? Their children were going to be just as beautiful and wonderful as their parents. There was no doubt about it.

Yes, Yamanaka Ino had it all planned out, and she was going to have it all. With her brains, skills and looks, how can she not?

Except…

There was just one thing.

It was just that, the one that she had picked out to be her husband-to-be (without him knowing, of course, but what Ino said goes so he had no say whatsoever on the matter if she wanted to go through with it) …

Well, her best friend had a crush on him too.

So it was with this knowledge in mind that the young blonde sat on a particularly soft patch of grass, chin resting on her knees as she poked at a dandelion every now and then before she finally released a near inaudible sigh. Today, she was not among the group of girls that currently surrounded Uchiha Sasuke. Not today. She just wasn't in the mood to, not for any of it, strangely enough, and she was normally the leader of all of those girls when it came to cheering Sasuke on in just about everything he did. It was a position that she was proud to have taken on for none of the other girls cheered as hard as she did.

Or perhaps it was not so strange, seeing that this had to do with her beloved friend Sakura.

And she just couldn't keep going for him when she knew all of this.

So imagine Ino's relief when she caught sight of her father's car driving up to the kindergarten that she attended. Finally. Now she wouldn't have to pretend not to hear all the giggles and chatter of excited conversation that were coming from the girls who were still watching Sasuke trounce Naruto in yet another arm-wrestling match. Slinging her bag over her shoulder, Ino quickly plastered a smile on her face as she hurried over to meet her father, the sound of her footsteps muffled by the patches of grass beneath her sneakered feet. Even if she didn't really feel like smiling, she could only mope about this thing for so long, right? After all, what was important was that Sakura was happy, and besides, there were far more boys –  _Oh, that one is pretty cute. Who is that?_ \- around that—

"Oof!"

She had just walked right into a tree.

Well, that was embarrassing.

Pain drummed in her temple, and where she had hit herself when she had accidentally walked into it surely must have left a glaring red mark. Ow, ow, ow… She winced as she raised herself from the ground a bit, hoping there weren't any scratches at the very least. –But, she supposed that the sight that greeted her when she opened her eyes made up for things somewhat, for the one who was standing over her with a look of utmost worry on his face was the very boy that she had spied on earlier, the same one that had caused her to walk into said tree. Said stupid, stupid, _stupid_  tree.

Though right now, it was a good tree.

"Are you alright?"

She blinked, bringing her vision into focus. At first, she had thought that it was Sasuke – they really looked quite similar, though this boy had a milder note to his expression and mannerism—from what she had managed to see of it so far, anyway. Save for the fact that this boy was taller and had a fringe, the physical differences between the two were more subtle, but still there. His skin was fair, though not as, and his dark hair was a shade lighter than Sasuke's inky black. And his eyes, those wide innocent eyes were framed by long eyelashes that would be the envy of just about any girl. Ino blinked once more, feeling her skin prickle slightly with heat.

He was cute.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Ino managed to grin after he helped her up.

He only smiled kindly at her before handing over one of the books that had fallen from her bag.

The quiet type, huh?

"That's good," he said politely.

Not that Ino particularly minded.

"Take care of yourself, alright? You might actually hurt yourself next time."

Kind, polite, caring, good-looking… A dreamy sigh. Though Ino had tried to get more information out of him about himself, he only gave her short, simple answers, ones that made the girl want to pout. He didn't even tell her his name! How stingy! Did she _look_  like a stranger that was trying to tempt him away with candy? She was just a little girl with excellent taste in clothes, thank you very much, there was no need to be so secretive around her. Just what was his problem?

Needless to say, this behaviour only served to pique young Ino's interest even further.

It took Ino quite a while to tear her gaze away from her new find, even when she was being driven off home in her father's car. It was only when the mysterious new boy was truly out of sight that she reluctantly pulled herself from the car window and finally settled down in her seat.

...

The silence in the car was promptly broken by Ino's chatter about her new "friend".

It looked like Yamanaka Ino may have just found herself a new future husband.


	2. Theme #2: Innocence

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Setting: AU

Young Ino Yamanaka pouted, the three year old girl already dressed in the puffiest white dress she owned, ready for her very own pretend wedding. A wedding that simply wasn't meant to be due to the fact that all the boys she knew didn't want to play marriage with her. Typical of them to be so stupid, Ino thought vehemently as she glared across the field, at the boys who were far too busy (being stupid) playing soccer to notice her. Didn't they know what an amazing bride she would make?

She sniffed, fingers plucking at the hem of her skirt moodily.

Well.

All except for one, that is.

And even then, he was _still_ stupid, just a bit, since he only looked like he _considered_ taking part in the game instead of actually doing it.

Propping her chin on the palm of one hand as she let out a huff, eyebrows drawn together as she glared at the ground, Ino was completely unaware as to the concerned glance that had been thrown her way.

But her agitated thoughts eventually came to a halt at the sound of footsteps, footsteps that were made up of the sound of soft scrunching of the green, green grass beneath sneakered feet. Ino looked up then through thinly veiled curiosity at the one who had approached her, and to her mild surprise, it was someone she knew, but had barely spoken to.

Sasuke's older brother, Itachi.

He was someone she barely spoke to for he was a quiet boy; she never really saw him do much else other than study and the only people he seemed to converse with were Sasuke and a curly-haired boy. From what Ino had managed to gather about him, he was a mild-mannered, studious and hard-working little soul who seemed to prefer to keep to himself for the most part.

Ino was about to address him when he did something that caused her to blink;

Without saying a word, Itachi extended a hand to her before offering a small smile.

"I'd marry you."

That was all he said.

And that was more than enough for a smile of her own to etch itself on her face for the rest of the week.


	3. Theme #3: Obsession

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Setting: AU

Ino didn't care what Sakura said.

She was not, by any means, obsessed.

What Ino had for Itachi Uchiha was not obsession; what she had for him was simply a healthy interest, one that a person would expect from someone her age. After all, what healthy teenage girl does not check out someone she finds attractive from time to time? And really, having an interest in someone as breathtaking as Itachi should come naturally to just about everyone (in Ino's biased opinion), what with his clean cut features, beautifully shaped eyes which were framed delicately by long lashes, and cupid bow lips. There was just nothing unattractive about him, be it on the inside or the outside.

In short, he was _gorgeous_.

So really, Sakura's accusation had not basis whatsoever.

Absolutely none.

All of this, while Ino shifted her position somewhat from where she sat perched on a tree branch several feet from Itachi's bedroom window, a pair of binoculars held firmly in hand.

Just because Ino had a habit of watching him every once in awhile.

It wasn't like Forehead had ever seen him topless before; therefore, the girl really didn't know what she was talking about.

So just like Ino had done every Monday and Wednesday at seven in the morning for the past month, she was currently awaiting her next healthy dose of her favourite eye candy. And speak of the devil, here he was now- Through the gap left between the curtains, the long-haired man in question had just come into view, just about ready to change his clothes, a scene that Ino would surely appreciate. By now, the fair-haired girl had well memorized his daily schedule, something that wasn't particularly difficult to do due to their houses being relatively close to one another's, as well have picked up on a few of his habits here and there.

Normally, Itachi would be up and about at around six, sometimes five in the morning – he was quite the early bird – even though he usually headed to college a bit later, at ten o'clock sharp. He would return home by six thirty, and he had a habit of staying up late in order to pour over thick volumes of books (she supposed that he had to maintain his position as the top student of his college, eh?). Other things that she had found out about him was that he liked going for quiet walks in the morning; he had a cat who clung to him nearly as much as his bratty baby brother did; he seemed to only hang out with one friend, a curly-haired man who had the tendency to tease him endlessly; he had a preference for onigiri and didn't seem too fond of steak; and when his mother was not home, he would be the one to take over the duty of cooking for the family. The list of what she knew about him just went on and on.

All of the above, Ino had found out on her own – a product from her endeavours – and without getting caught. Not once.

It made her feel like a private investigator – oh, my goodness, was he already taking his shirt off? Where was her camera when she needed it? – and a damned good one at that, to be able to get away with this from someone as observant as Itachi—

"Keeping watch for weasels again, Ino-san?"

Needless to say, Ino made a noise that was akin to a wounded animal being strangled, eyes wide as she stared at him incredulously; she had not missed the implications in his words.

_He knew?!_

Itachi only smiled pleasantly – regretfully, he was no longer topless – at her, hands placed on the window sill. A gentle breeze swept past, raven hair that framed his features no doubt tickling his skin slightly. Whether or not he was irritated with her for spying on him on more than one occasion, she couldn't tell. Itachi was never easy to read.

All Ino knew was that she wanted to drop off the branch and have the ground swallow her whole.

"So did you manage to catch sight of any? You've been sitting there for quite some time now."

If possible, the flush on her cheeks darkened a notch.

Not about to stick around for much longer, Ino promptly excused herself - "Oh, look at the time, ehehe! I should be heading back home to fix breakfast for my dad! Sorry, Itachi-san!" - and climbed down the tree in a blink of an eye, making a beeline for her own home while completely and utterly unaware of the silent laughter that now resided in Itachi's eyes.

That was the last time she was going to watch him in a while.

...

Or maybe she just needed to find another branch to perch on.


End file.
